One final hurdle for Lee deal
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One final hurdle for Lee deal
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
According to several baseball sources, the only hurdle standing in the way of a blockbuster trade that will bring reigning American League Cy Young winner Cliff Lee to Philadelphia is a thorough review of medical records.
The trade will bring Lee, 7-9 with a 3.14 ERA, and right-handed hitter Ben Francisco to Philadelphia in exchange for heralded pitching prospect Jason Knapp, infielder Jason Donald, catcher Lou Marson, and former top pitching prospect Carlos Carrasco.
While the medical review is not expected to stand in the way of the deal, a source labelled it an "important part" of the process, given recent injuries to Donald and Knapp. As of early this afternoon, Knapp was still at a Lakewood Blue Claws team hotel in Greenville, S.C., while Donald, Marson and Carrasco were at Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Carrasco was scratched from his start today. Donald and Marson did not play. Donald was not scheduled to play after returning last night following knee surgery. Marson did not catch, with an early day game after a night game.
Knapp, a 19-year-old righthander who throws in the mid-to-upper 90's, has been on the disabled list with shoulder fatigue since early July. He has been long-tossing, but has not pitched off the mound since July 11.
Word of the trade has already trickled down to Anaheim, where sources said Cleveland teammates were congratulating Lee on the deal. Lee, however, told reporters that he had no knowledge of the trade.
A Phillies source said no announcement was imminent. An Indians spokesman declined to confirm the trade.
Meanwhile, Roy Halladay took the mound in Seattle for Toronto against the Mariners.
Jays manager Cito Gaston was asked about the impending Lee trade.
“Is it official now? So what is Cleveland doing there?" he said. "I know they’re (unloading) but what are they doing?”
Gaston was then asked if it made him feel any better that one of Halladay's suitor was presumably off the board.
“Well, yeah. It tells me [Philadelphia] is not going to take him? Who knows? They might come back and get him, too," he said. "That would be a pretty good staff over there, wouldn’t it? Because from what I understand, they didn’t give up any of their [top] prospects, not the ones we [reportedly] wanted."
Then he started to laugh: "Hey, it’s still out there maybe. It’s better to have two than one, isn’t it? We’ll see what happens. Today’s the 29th. We’ve still got two days. So it’s still alive.”
More to come. . .
Haha righty, that's awesome.— bucksphilly
Comment removed.- They still need a piece for the bullpen. They cannot count on Myers to come back and be effective. Put Lopez into the bullpen for the time being and then when Martinez is ready put Moyer or Happ back there.— wtphillies
- Sherrill is not being traded for Lopez & Mayberry. That's crazy. Why on earth would Baltimore take that deal? Lopez has barely pitched the last few years and he will have to clear waivers before he can be sent to AAA. If any team wanted Lopez, they just have to wait until he gets put on waivers and then claim him. The Phils can't keep him so why would you trade for a guy that the Phils cannot keep anyway. Mayberry? Nobody is high on him around the league. If Baltimore trades Sherrill, they want prospects, not spare parts.— JimG
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- Yep, Halliday, Lee, Hamels, Blanton, would win the next two world series. :-)— greenflyer
- trade Lee for Halliday - straight up— Mister Roops
- Can we still throw in Eric Bruntlett into the trade package as well? Hell, maybe we can still trade him for a stick of gum and a bottled water.— Philly Jinx
- >>OK..now trade Drabek and Happ +1 for Halladay? LOL...<<< I was thinking the same thing! Hamels, Halladay, Lee, Blanton, Moyer... not bad, not bad at all!— fafafooey
- Now, if the Jays are willing to take either Drabek or Happ [but not both] and are willing to sub in Worley, Savery and/or Carpenter for Halladay and Scutaro, the farm system will suck once again, but the Phils will be in the title chase, guaranteed, for the next 2 years.— jmk1512
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- Adding Lee, or even Halladay for that matter, won't count for so much if we don't have a reliable closer. And, obviously, that hasn't been Lidge this year. Myers is a possibility (with Lidge put on DL), but it's all pretty iffy/suspect at this point.— CarpGuy
dragoon6-- shakin' the tree. that was funny!— thebigrocketboy- Now, if we could send Happ and Mayberry to Baltimore for George Sherrill, that would be a great day for Amaro. You figure Lee would replace Happ in the rotation, Lopez will keep the #5 spot warm until Pedro is ready and Sherrill would be the insurance policy in case Lidge keeps struggling. Francisco will be the 4th outfielder and RH bat off the bench, which means that Mayberry doesn’t have a future in the organization.— EL Zorro
